Amabile has made the study of creativity her life’s work. She originally focused on how intrinsic motivation influences individual creativity. While pursuing her PhD in psychology at Stanford University, she discovered that “people are more creative when they are doing something interesting, challenging and personally satisfying to them.” Amabile later expanded her research to include team creativity and organizational innovation. Her most recent research examines how events in the workplace influence creativity, productivity and commitment. Amabile collaborated on the study and the book that followed (The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work) with Steven Kramer, PhD, a developmental psychologist and Amabile’s husband of 23 years. “One of the most frequent questions we get is not about the content of the book or the research behind it,” laughs Amabile. “Rather it’s ‘You guys wrote a book together and are still married?’” Amabile admits to the couple’s different work styles. But these differences complemented one another and by working together, the couple accomplished more than either could have alone. “We set out to do this research together because we wanted to make a positive difference in the work lives of as many people and organizations as possible,” she says. DeAr DiAry Amabile and Kramer’s in-depth, multi-year study asked 238 professionals, from various industries, to keep daily electronic diaries about their inner work lives. (These are the perceptions, emotions and motivations that people experience as they react to and make sense of the events in their workdays.) An analysis of the nearly 12,000 diary entries looked at trends and patterns in stories, and revealed a surprising discovery, which Amabile refers to as the progress principle. “On days when employees sensed they made headway in meaningful work, their emotions were more positive, their drive to perform peaked, and they had more favorable perceptions of their work environment,” says Amabile, who defines “meaningful work” as any work that gives employees a sense of purpose.
THe CATALyST FACTOrS - Seven simple actions managers can take to help people make meaningful progress in their work
Set clear
goals
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Allow
autonomy
| C ANISIUS COLLEGE MAGA ZINE • WINTER 2014
“In turn, such positive inner work life makes employees more likely to be productive and creative.” Even minor victories yielded major returns. “People often felt ecstatic,” says Amabile, when they accomplished simple tasks, such as tweaking an algorithm to make a new process or fixing a bug in a software problem. These small but meaningful wins boosted people’s motivation and emotions more than any extrinsic motivator, such as rewards or recognition. “We were stunned,” adds Amabile, “by the depth and emotionality of how important people’s work is to them personally. Most of the people we studied were not merely working for a paycheck. They care deeply about their work, their colleagues and the organizations of which they are a part.” CreATiviTy AND THe BOTTOm LiNe Small, meaningful wins aren’t just big deals for employees. They can be critical to a corporation’s bottom line. Consider this: An alarming 70 percent of today’s workers feel unengaged in or unenthusiastic about their work, according to Gallup’s “State of the American Workplace” report (2010-2012). The price tag for this equates to about $450 billion in lost productivity, each year. “If you’re a manager of people, these findings make it clear where you need to focus your efforts,” says Michael Cardus, president of Create-Learning Team Building & Leadership. An executive trainer and leadership coach, Cardus educates professionals on how to apply the progress principle. “Most managers don’t fully understand the power they have to help employees succeed in their work.” That power lies in seven simple catalysts that can positively impact people’s inner work lives and the work, itself. (See The Catalyst Factors, below, for the complete list.) SuPPOrTiNg THe WOrk In chemistry, a catalyst is a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction. When discussing her research, Amabile (whose undergraduate degree is in chemistry) uses the term to describe the actions managers can take to give people the best chance of achieving meaningful progress.
Provide
resources
Give enough time – but not too much